The Character Protection Team
by Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi
Summary: Riddle me this: just WHY is it that people feel the need to bash characters that they dislike? (In which what was originally an innocent Google search escalates into an irate authoress going to painstaking lengths to defend the honour of various canons through the self-founded CPT — Chapter 2, Character 1: Amu Hinamori) *backburner* #Story2
1. Introduction

The 'Character Protection Team'

**Author: _Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi_**

**Posted:**** 1st of August, 2014 **

**Edit: Minor alterations contributed on the 5th**

**Full-story disclaimer:** **Everything belongs to its respective owner(s); I don't own any existing creations that appear within this fanfiction. **

* * *

***FIRST PERSON***

**Present tense.**

_"Let me explain you a thing."_

I'm sat on a comfortable leather armchair in what appears to be a study, legs crossed with my right hand infront of me, pointer and middle finger pinched to my thumb as my other digits stick up in a refined manner. Irritation rolls off me in waves as I lean forward, staring frustratedly over the top of my glasses.

"We have gathered here today to address a very prominent and thoroughly exasperating issue regarding canon characters: as you may be aware, 'bashing' is a popular activity among fandoms in which fans of the franchise slate characters that they do not like. Through attacking them, they achieve a form of angry satisfaction through being able to find others who agree with them.

_This is unacceptable_."

I exhale loudly through my nose, falling back against the chair. My eyes close as I reach up to delicately touch the side of my head, hand standing erect to solidate the annoyed pose.

"You are all probably wondering what brought this irksome attitude to my usually neutral self. Truth be told, I was purposely browsing for Mary Sues in the _Shugo Chara!_ series via a Google search when I came across this monstrosity."

I flip up a sheet of paper with a printed screencap of a Yahoo! Answers search. Without the gaps, the address is as follows:

**_h-t-t-p-s-:-/-/-u-k-.-a-n-s-w-e-r-s-.-y-a-h-o-o-.-c-o-m-/-q-u-e-s-t-i-o-n-/-i-n-d-e-x-?-q-i-d-=-2-0-1-0-0-7-2-6-0-8-0-7-2-7-A-A-b-N-s-2-b_**

"Needless say that once I scanned through the spectacle, I was consumed with rage. Now, don't get me wrong: everyone is entitled to their own opinion; I will never deny any living being of their own view, but when they phrase it as a fact and a statement… That's where I come in."

I smirk, anime cat-fang peeking over my bottom lip as I subdue the oncoming sourness in favour of taking joy from being able to shoot down the page's comments.

"I, _Otaku_, will hereby form an intangible establishment wherein common-sense users and logically-thinking individuals may gather to defend the honour of various characters from an array of shows (animes), books (mangas) and games. Our motto?"

Jumping to my feet, I slap the nearby wall, a plaque forming beside my hand.

"With regards to the respectable Yahoo user _wchmara_, the only user to reason with the bashers in that atrocious article (though _patricia :)_ did deny the enquirers claim), I have adapted their statement to create the rule-of-thumb for this team to use:"

**_The fundamental difference between a main character and a Mary Sue or Gary Stu lies in how Sues and Stus can only exist in fan-written work. In professional work, the main character must have outstanding qualities to BE the main character; therefore, canons are excused for whatever Sueish/Stuish qualities they bear._**

Planting my hands on my hips, I stand proud and tall.

"Now, writers and readers alike!" I call, spreading my arms "Let us join forces – let us purge the world of insecurities regarding characters, and may we protect the canon 'till the end!"

My words cause a stir in the study – a gale whips past me, sending my long hair flying forward. The room begins to glow bright white, shapes altering, twisting and shifting. Grinning, I drop my left arm to my side, right hand reaching out in invitation. The camera floats south, backpedaling out of the room at a steady pace. It exits the room, still facing me as I call, eyes sparkling and voice tinged with laughter:

"Until then, I bid you adieu!"

And the so the doors closed.

* * *

**_Author's note:_**** I am back! :D *party poppers* At long last, I have returned from my hiatus, now equipped with a shiny new netbook *pats mini-laptop***

**So, I hope you enjoyed that little prelude! As goes my writing style, I figured that a little background would be lovely, but all chapters after this will focus on protecting the actual characters, with the methods and ways differing per person, all told through story format so as to avoid breaking FanFiction's regulations. Yay for sticking to the rules!**

**I'm thinking of actually forming a forum dedicated to these discussions, so be sure to let me know your thoughts~! Hell, flame if you must ****–**** the hate only makes me stronger! If you want to join the Character Protection Team, just leave me a message tagged with **_#Supporter_**.**

**Love cha,  
-ONNMT**

**_(Word count: 885)_**

* * *

_Next time on the CPT:_

_What kind of trigger would that _Yahoo_ article be if this story didn't feature the one who started it all? That's right __–__ next chapter, we will be covering the kuudere herself, __**Hinamori Amu**__!_


	2. Amu Hinamori (Shugo Chara!)

_**Updated: 16th of August, 2014**_

**A/N: So you stuck around, huh? *eyes twinkle* Well then, here's to the first round of character protecting! *toasts* This is the CPT's first act, but that doesn't mean we'll be slacking! Remember, if you want to join the CPT, just shoot me a tagged review or PM with **_#Supporter_**.**

**((I apologize for the delay, but I lost my internet connection for a few days... I've _still_ got PMs that I need to reply to ;^;))**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara (or Pokémon, or TMOHS); however, the Character Protection Squad is mine. Warning- contains a slur and suppressed rage; will seem rant-y, but fails on the hilarity part (*gross sobbing*)**

**Thank you for the review,** _adrogoz_**!  
**

* * *

Character One: Amu Hinamori

_"Amu really irritated me until the very very very end of the manga."_

_"Any main character in a magical girl anime has a 98% chance of being a Sue. I'm just gonna throw that out there now XD"_

_"If there's one thing I can't stand, it's a Sue."_

* * *

***THIRD PERSON***

**Past tense.**

_'Today is a good day,'_ Otaku thought positively to herself, walking with a confident stride in the direction of the meeting room, mimicking the strut from the opening of _The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya_. The Character Protection Team was now an official service, having being founded a fortnight earlier, and was now ready for business. Given, she was currently the only known member, but that would all change today…

Reaching for the rounded doorknob, the authoress felt a jolt of excitement swirl in her stomach; she had the butterflies now. She gripped the smooth handle, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. Steadily, she pushed open the door...

Nothing looked how she had remembered it. The brunette smirked slightly, lightly touching the Pen that was sheathed at her right hip. It was common knowledge that every creative person owned a magical item, be you a writer or an artist – the person had either a Pen or a Pencil respectively. Either way, the tool was used to alter fictional worlds, including this fanfiction one, and it had recently been put to use with re-decorating what had, last-chapter, been a study (the pen is mightier than the sword, afterall!)

The room was now more spacious and airy, painted a pretty white, with two windows decorating the back wall to allow bright sunlight to spill in. The entirety of the left wall was lined with a full-length book shelf, reaching from ceiling to floor; a tall rolling ladder was propped against the far end, more or less tucked in the corner. Only the center of the room was unaffected, hosting the same circular table and infinite chairs. All in all, it looked like a refreshing club room; just as intended.

The most notable change, however, was how Otaku was no longer the only person in the room. Sat around the expansive meeting table was someone else – she identified them as a Supporter, recognising the Venomoth as _adrogoz_. Otaku felt her face split into a bright smile as she slipped past, taking her place at the head of the table before depositing herself on the slim throne.

"First of all, I'd like to thank you for coming," Otaku chirpped, flashing a thumbs up at the purple Pokémon. "I'm ONNMT – you can call me Otaku – and I'm the founder of the Character Protection Team; it's a pleasure to have you on-board the squad! Now, how about we get down to work?"

* * *

_**Name:** Amu Hinamori  
__**Series:** Shugo Chara! _(working off the anime, here)_  
__**Case:** Accused of being a Mary Sue, falling under the categories of Harem-Queen, Special (x2), and Ho._

x-x-x

"Using the source that was linked in the last chapter, we will now examine the Sue-Evidence for Amu. Let us begin…"

**1)  
**-There are five entries for romantic interests with Amu, meaning male characters that like her.

"Already we have a misunderstanding on our hands - anyone who is remotely familiar with _Shugo Chara!_ will understand that Amu Hinamori is seen showing a _crush_ on five characters (I will facepalm at your stupidity if you call her a whore as, at her age, the hormones released in puberty will be the things causing the short-lived and light infatuations); meaning, _she_ likes five characters and **not** that five characters _return_ her feelings: love interest number one, Tadase, has a crush on Amu's transformation, Amulet Heart, rather than the girl herself. Boy number two, Ikuto, is the one who Amu ultimately ends up with, so your comment about him is invalid. Lucky guy number three, Kukai, is just friendly, having no romantic ties with Amu (and also, by the way, I think ends up Utau). Male number four, Kairi, has one-sided feelings towards her, whilst the fifth and final crush, Nagihiko is shipped more strongly in the canon with Rima than he is with Amu. From looking at this, you can see that only one-and-a-half excessive characters actually like her. (Besides, isn't this supposed to be a shoujo that is tagged 'harem' anyway? If it states it, you have no right to bitch about it)

Moving on."

**2)  
**-She gets about 7 different forms, other characters get 3 at the most.

"Again, this claim is overruled on the grounds of an actual reason – you see, Amu acquires an artifact known as the _Humpty Lock_ early in the show. Whilst not directly stated, the lock has an affinity towards Charas, which allows Amu to transform with her own Charas as well as any others that come her way. As you can see, it's actually not Amu who has multiple forms, but rather the lock itself.

Next."

**3)  
**-She gets 4 character eggs, at the most, other characters get 2.

"Correct though this may be, there are, again, reasons for this – Charas, hatched from character eggs, represent the child's dreams and ambitions: to put it simply, Amu is just more indecisive than everyone else (with the exception of Lulu who only gets one Chara since her **single** dream was to do everything)."

**4)  
**And here's what really made me want to spork the author. Ikuto, in the manga at least, is 17. Amu is 12. And he's in love with her? Sue, sue, sue! :/ Either that, or he's a pedobear.

"This is the one point that really grinds my gears. What the fandom fails to realise is that while, yes, there is an age gap, **_it isn't really all that much_**. Take real-life as an example: a couple aged thirty-nine and forty-four isn't really all that absurd. Also, and here is the important bit, _Ikuto **explicitly stated that he would wait for Amu; **he would let her age before making **any** sort of **serious** move on her, and **only** once she was of a suitable age would he pursue their relationship._ It really pisses me off when I see people 'forget' about this moment, so you can guarantee that I have this scene permanently tabbed."

* * *

The camera zoomed away from the close-up of the writing Otaku projected onto the right-hand wall's interactive whiteboard, focussing instead on the girl stood next to the retort. Otaku had her arms folded under her chest, eyeing the crowd. She turned to the camera, challenging the _Yahoo! Answers_ person to deny the truth from someone who had watched the full anime.

"Therefore, with these points in mind, I ask that you refrain from carelessly calling Amu Hinamori a Mary Sue: her appearance isn't remarkable, her personality is well-developed, and her abilities all have a side of logic served with them. She does not have an unreasonable harem, her special powers are what make her a main character, and the relationship between her and Ikuto is perfectly healthy."

The camera shifts and Otaku smiles at the other member of the Character Protection Team.

"Thank you, and that will be all for today. Meeting dismissed."

* * *

**A/N: *Huffs* Being someone who actually liked Amu, I get pretty offended when I see people throwing around cheap and basis-lacking insults like that. While I accept that the _Yahoo!_ person didn't have much experience with the show, they still shouldn't have been so quick to jump to conclusions.**

******On a happier note, remember that **if you have any characters you would like me to rescue, be sure contribute! - just remember that I'll only consider suggestions if they're through PM only.

**Affection,  
****-ONNMT**

_**(Word count: 1,495)**_

* * *

_Next time on the CPT:_

_We have another rosette next chapter, courtesy of a distress call from the Naruto franchise. Yup, you called it: we have the most-bashed female of series dropping in, and that would be** Haruno Sakura**!_


End file.
